In between stays in Cairns, I went to the laid back town of Port Douglas. I arrived on Melbourne Cup day, and was surprised to see people filling every bar and restaurant in town as if they were actually at the races, not two-thousand kilometres away! I did very little while here; my time consisted mainly of sitting on the beach, either relaxing, watching the tiny crabs roll up balls of sand, or reading. I didn’t swim in the sea as it is now stinger (or jellyfish) season, and they can be either cripplingly painful or deadly.

I was advised to do cane toad racing, which one of the bars offer, but went into town at 8:30 in the evening, only to be told the only race of the night was at 7pm. Port Douglas was surprising in that respect, as there didn’t seem to be any nightlife, which is unusual for a town who’s primary industry is tourism.

On my way to the town, I was picked up in a free minibus by a driver that used to live a few streets away from me in Swindon more years ago than I’d care to remember, and stopped off at a view point of the coast, where hang gliding lessons were being given. It still surprises me when I see hang gliders that they can actually gain height whilst barely moving.